Uroplatus Questions

Chase

Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello all!
I've been thinking about getting a pair of Uroplatus. I had a few questions though for those of you who have worked with them.

What species do you recommend for a first time Uroplatus keeper?

Are there specific things that should be done to help acclimate them, if WC specimens are purchased?

I'll post more if I think of them.

LPR08
 
I got a few Uroplatus last year, Satanics to be specific. From everything I read about them before getting them they were super fragile. I heard the same about chameleons years back. Basically its the same deal as chams you gotta study up on what their requirments. If you fulfill those these guys will thrive for you. To be honest I find them equal if not easier to take care of than chams.

Of the 2.3 group of the uro phants I purchased last year I have 2.2 remaining. The one that passed died within a week and a half of its arrival.

The larger ones I believe are considered to be "easier" to take care of. To be honest though, I would pick the species you want to work with.

Hydration is crucial for recent imports. If you get some uros and they are dehydrated, spraying them extra times overnight will really help. Staying up or waking up midpoint thru would be good too. Just for that inital period when they arrive.

From everything I have read about wildcaughts you dont want to feed them alot after import. It will cause their parasite loads to go outta whack. Now having said that, I believe it is the general concensus among uro keepers that parasite loads are acceptable in wc. Meaning that you dont hear of them over reacting to their geckos having coccidia. Just when they gecko is showing signs of bad health.

Heres a forum with a subforum on leaftails. Its not as active as here but theres experienced keepers of all types of uros there, one that aren't even classified yet :eek:.

http://http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/leaf-tailed-geckos-uroplatus

Hope it helps I am by no means a master of uros. But I atleast did moderately well (got 4 eggs cooking) with some of the most fragile. I'm sure you are capable of the same if you apply yourself like you do to the chams.
 
Luis would be #1 to answer the gecko questions however my thoughts on it are:

The mossy leaf tail geckos are a great starting point, a little larger and hardy then the satanic and not massive (as large as a male panther) giant leaf tail. Mossy leaf tails are on the mellow side from my working with them, not as jumpy as cork barks that are around the same size but a little smaller.


Once you have them, give them lots of water and your standard bug treatments.

Keep them cool as heat is a real killer for them.

All and all other than my knob tails I LOVE the leaf tails, they are LOTS of fun to keep.
 
Howdy!

Well, there is some sound advice already given. I would recommend reading the care sheets we have posted on http://www.uroplatus.org . We have one for fimbriatus and lineatus as well as the holy grail of care sheets (IMHO anyway) for phantasticus written by Mike Martin.

Now, having worked with just about every species of Uroplatus available in the hobby, I have suggest you consider attitude and personality when choosing a species to work with. Piestchmanni (cork barks) tend to be more jumpy, yet mellow in the cage where as U. guentheri is by far one of the more entertaining with wonderful personalities, yet not as ornate or cryptic as the other species.

U. phantasticus are on the more sensitive side, especially fresh imports, but once established and kept on the dryer side of what's recommended, they can do rather well. However, I wouldn't recommend them as a first species.

If you like the U. phantasticus but can live with the tail portion, U. ebenaui is a great little Uroplatus that are very social. They tend to be hardier than phantasticus but, we're learning that keeping these smaller species dryer than what's typically recommended seems to be the trick for long term success.

Many U. lineatus develop very nasty attitudes, snapping when handled or even dropping their tails and running! While all species are considered display animals with handling kept to a minimum, most will tolerate occasional handling, however, U. lineatus truly desires to remain a display animal only. :)

U. fimbriatus get large! We have a couple of females pushing 13" now. Large geckos need lots of room and they also produce large poops. They tend to be rather chill and laid back overall, with some observably interesting behaviors.

Henkeli are one of my favorites (and not because we've hatched quite a few so far) and are very similar to fimbriatus in care. They're a bit more active than the fimbies and come in and can be found in a variety of patterns, occasionally pied. They stay a bit smaller than the fimbriatus, reaching roughly 10" in overall length. The henkeli group will be a very exciting one to work with in the near future as there are 8 of Uroplatus (a few henkeli types) species yet to be described, some of which have made it through the collection/export process. I actually think a pair of ours is one of these species, as they seem to fit the preliminary features of one of the undescribed. :)

Sikorae are a great beginner species, rather tolerant of most conditions and do fairly well all around.

Now, you asked about acclimating WC's. We've acclimated over 100 Uroplatus in 2010 and I must mention that it's never without lots of TLC. They come in loaded with parasites, very dehydrated and occasionally nearly limp. Most distributors don't acclimate properly and simply flip the animals to recoup their investment before the animals begin to decline (sound familiar?).

Of course, you can't beat a well acclimated LTC or CB animal, but any WC's should have fecals tested at least quarterly. They're very much like beardies with things like pinworm or coccidia and can harbor these nasties indefinitely without any outward signs of illness. I mention this so you can prepare to be careful when handling materials etc between enclosures or with your chameleons. :)


If I've missed something, please feel free to ask and keep an ear out for future articles in the works. ;)

Cheers!

Luis
 
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Howdy!

Well, there is some sound advice already given. I would recommend reading the care sheets we have posted on http://www.uroplatus.org . We have one for fimbriatus and lineatus as well as the holy grail of care sheets (IMHO anyway) for phantasticus written by Mike Martin.

Now, having worked with just about every species of Uroplatus available in the hobby, I have suggest you consider attitude and personality when choosing a species to work with. Piestchmanni (cork barks) tend to be more jumpy, yet mellow in the cage where as U. guentheri is by far one of the more entertaining with wonderful personalities, yet not as ornate or cryptic as the other species.

U. phantasticus are on the more sensitive side, especially fresh imports, but once established and kept on the dryer side of what's recommended, they can do rather well. However, I wouldn't recommend them as a first species.

If you like the U. phantasticus but can live with the tail portion, U. ebenaui is a great little Uroplatus that are very social. They tend to be hardier than phantasticus but, we're learning that keeping these smaller species dryer than what's typically recommended seems to be the trick for long term success.

Many U. lineatus develop very nasty attitudes, snapping when handled or even dropping their tails and running! While all species are considered display animals with handling kept to a minimum, most will tolerate occasional handling, however, U. lineatus truly desires to remain a display animal only. :)

U. fimbriatus get large! We have a couple of females pushing 13" now. Large geckos need lots of room and they also produce large poops. They tend to be rather chill and laid back overall, with some observably interesting behaviors.

Henkeli are one of my favorites (and not because we've hatched quite a few so far) and are very similar to fimbriatus in care. They're a bit more active than the fimbies and come in and can be found in a variety of patterns, occasionally pied. They stay a bit smaller than the fimbriatus, reaching roughly 10" in overall length. The henkeli group will be a very exciting one to work with in the near future as there are 8 of Uroplatus (a few henkeli types) species yet to be described, some of which have made it through the collection/export process. I actually think a pair of ours is one of these species, as they seem to fit the preliminary features of one of the undescribed. :)

Sikorae are a great beginner species, rather tolerant of most conditions and do fairly well all around.

Now, you asked about acclimating WC's. We've acclimated over 100 Uroplatus in 2010 and I must mention that it's never without lots of TLC. They come in loaded with parasites, very dehydrated and occasionally nearly limp. Most distributors don't acclimate properly and simply flip the animals to recoup their investment before the animals begin to decline (sound familiar?).

Of course, you can't beat a well acclimated LTC or CB animal, but any WC's should have fecals tested at least quarterly. They're very much like beardies with things like pinworm or coccidia and can harbor these nasties indefinitely without any outward signs of illness. I mention this so you can prepare to be careful when handling materials etc between enclosures or with your chameleons. :)


If I've missed something, please feel free to ask and keep an ear out for future articles in the works. ;)

Cheers!

Luis

Thanks Luis!

I lightly read your caresheets, and had some more questions.

I really like two species. I really like the Uroplatus lineatus, and the Uroplatus sikorae. I have a 2X2X3 cage I could use for a pair, and from what I've read that should be acceptable?

I know you said the lineatus develop nasty attitudes, but have you seen this in most cases? Would you say the sikorae have good attitudes? Also, what are their common names, is it Giant Mossy-Tailed Gecko? I've seen a few for sale, and from pictures of them, they look similar, so I am guessing they are the same?

Also, is there a website that would be good for me to read, for sikorae information, along with breeding information about lineatus.

LPR08
 
Well, to be honest, the care sheets I've sent is about as good as it gets, but you can see what the differences are in the galleries.

The common names are as follows...

  • U. ebanaui - Spearpoint Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. fimbriatus - Giant Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. giganteus - White Eyed Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. guentheri - Gunther's Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. henkeli - Henkel's Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. lineatus - Lined Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. phantasticus - Satanic/Eyelash Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. pietschmanni - Cork Bark Leaf Tail Gecko
  • U. sikorae - Mossy Leaf Tail Gecko

There are a few others I'm missing, most of which aren't available in the hobby and don't have "common" names necessarily.

The cage size you've chosen is perfect for a pair of U. lineatus or a trio of U. sikorae. The sikorae get roughly 8" total length, bodies stay around 5-6". Lineatus are longer and slender. They can reach 10-11" in total length.

Now, about the attitude, well, every lineatus I've encountered has displayed unpredictable behavior. One evening they may tolerant mild handling, the next be nasty as can be. The secret to mitigate some of the 'tude is to not startle them. Once startled they simply torpedo to the ground and start bouncing away.

The U. sikorae have much better attitudes! They're jumpy, as most of the species are, but rarely snap attempt to bite. Most tolerate handling rather well, though I always like to remind that they're not to be handled often. :)

Now U. lineatus look completely different from U. sikorae. Here are a few images to give you an idea...

U. lineatus
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U. sikorae
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U. fimbriatus (Giant's)
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One of our babies... :)

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The main differences between all of the species is body shape and morphology. All sikorae are pretty much shaped the same, just like all fimbriatus are shaped the same. But sikorae are shaped much differently than fimbriatus.

Cheers!

Luis
 
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